


You Did Your Best

by Cats_Dont_Float



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Character Death, M/M, Sad, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 02:44:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17799644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cats_Dont_Float/pseuds/Cats_Dont_Float
Summary: A battle gone wrong. A paladin that only Lance seems to be able to see.  A surprise attack. Lance should never have stepped into battle that morning.





	You Did Your Best

Lance sprinted across the room, shots from laser guns coming at him from all angles. A few Galra soldiers ran at him, guns pointed in his direction.  
"Lance, this way!" A voice shouted. Lance looked to his left, and spotted Keith running along the top of a parked ship. He stopped in his tracks, and stared for a few seconds. "Come on!" Keith shouted, and Lance turned and quickly pulled himself up onto the wing of the ship. He scrabbled upwards until he was on the top, and looked around desperately, trying to spot Keith. But he had disappeared again. Lance didn't have time to dwell on his confusion, as a steady stream of gunfire blasted towards him. He ducked quickly, and then started to run in a zigzag pattern away, dodging every shot they fired. Form his higher position on top of the ship, he spotted the door that Allura had instructed him to locate. He quickly lifted his gun, and took down the guard with a quick shot, before leaping from the ship's roof and racing towards the door.  
"Sorry," Lance muttered to the fallen guard as he dashed past, "But they don't call me the sharpshooter for nothing."

He sprinted down a long, thin corridor, aware of the sounds of footsteps behind him. He was about to panic, when the person came up beside him, and he realised it was Pidge.  
"I saw Keith!" Lance shouted as they continued running, "He's here!"  
"That's impossible," Pidge said, panting slightly as she struggled to keep up with him.  
"It's true!" Lance shouted back, aware of himself beginning to sound more and more hysterical.  
Pidge said something, but her words were blocked out by the sound of firing from behind them. "Lance, get to the hangar where they've got the red lion!" She snapped, "I can hold them off, but not for long." She turned, her hand tightly clutching at her bayard, and raced back towards the attackers. Lance watched her for a few seconds, and then followed her orders, and ran away. Behind him, he heard Pidge let out a small cry, and reached for his gun, ready to run back to her.  
"Keep running," said a familiar voice.  
"Keith?" Lance cried, raising one hand to his helmet and wondering whether Keith was talking to him via the communications the rest of the paladins used.  
"Just keep going," Keith's voice said, and Lance was sure it was coming from beside him, though there was nobody there. Lance felt a weight on top of his shoulder, like somebody had rested there hand there. "Trust me, you'll be okay."  
Lance took a deep breath, and decided to trust Keith's disembodied voice.

A few moments later, he reached the door of the hangar where the red lion was being kept by the Galra, and crouched down in the doorway. He could see a few soldiers, standing guard near the lion's head, but wasn't sure if there were others nearby. He reached for his gun, and quickly took down the guards that he could see. As they fell to the floor, he heard shouting, and another two soldiers suddenly rushed over. Lance ducked back into the shadows of the corridor, but the Galra were cleverer than he'd given them credit for, and instantly had their guns aimed in his direction.  
"Come out with your hands up," one called, his voice calm and even, "and we won't shoot."  
Lance stayed hidden, his gun trained on one of them, his finger resting against the trigger, waiting for the right moment. The soldiers advanced, and Lance quickly squeezed the trigger, watching in satisfaction as one of the stumbled down, clutching at his chest. He quickly swung the gun, and shot again, this time missing slightly, but still hitting the soldier's arm. Thinking quickly, he dashed up to the guard who was still on his feet. Before he could even react, he swung his gun, hitting the Galran soldier in the side of the head and knocking him out instantly. Glancing around, Lance quickly surveyed the rest of the room. it seemed empty. he could only hope that the soldiers hadn't managed to raise the alarm before he'd killed them.

He rushed towards the red lion, and it's mouth instantly stretched open, eyes glowing as it recognised him.  
"Hey girl," he said quietly, gently patting one huge metallic leg with his hand, "Good to see you again." He quickly hit a button on the side of his helmet, hearing the familiar crackle of the communications system. "I'm in the hangar," he reported, "Where are you?"  
"Stationed outside the hangar's door," came Shiro's reply, "Can you open it from the inside. And quickly, the guards are about to wake up."  
"On it," Lance replied. He rushed across the room, keeping a tight grip on his gun the entire time, just in case. By the door, he found a control panel, and quickly flipped a switch. The huge metal door slid open. A few seconds passed, and then his entire team, including Pidge, dashed in.  
"Shut it, shut it!" Shiro called, and Lance hit the switch again. The door began to slide shut, just as two soldiers appeared on the other side. As it closed, one soldier leapt forward, arms outstretched, and fell to the ground as the door slammed shut in his face.  
"Eww," Pidge stated simply as they all realised his hand had been cut off by the door, and now lay on the floor.  
"Everyone get in the red lion," Lance ordered them quickly, "We've got to get out of here before someone sounds the alarm." As the others quickly filed in, he took a few seconds to stand on his own. "Keith, are you there?" He called, "We're about to leave, so you should probably hurry up if you want a ride back." He tried to disguise the worry in his voice with a small laugh, but nothing could get rid of the fear rising in his chest, "Keith?" he called out again. He hung his head sadly as he turned back towards the lion. "I guess I'll see you around," he called, "You obviously don't want to come back to us."  
He was just about to step up into the red lion, when suddenly Keith's voice called out, "Lance! Look out!" Before Lance could even turn, he heard the sound of gunfire, and a sharp pain ripped through his stomach. He staggered, his vision blurring, and then fell to his knees. He clutched at his stomach, and pulled his hand away covered in a layer of blood.

"Lance!" Allura screamed, racing out of the lion and dropping to her knees beside him. He fell sideways, more pain stabbing through him as he hit the floor heavily. The others were suddenly all there, crowding around him. Lance struggled to sit up, looking around and desperately try and see where Keith had gone this time. "Lay down," Allura said quietly, her voice shaking as much her hands were, "We'll get you out of here."  
"Wait," Lance said weakly, "Where's Keith? You have to find him."  
Allura looked away from Lance to glance at the others, confused. Pidge gently crouched down by the two of them. "He thought he saw Keith earlier," she explained, "Lance, sweetie, that wasn't Keith."  
"It was!" Lance protested, "He's here, he's here! Why won't you believe me?"  
"Lance!" Shiro snapped. Lance turned to look at the older paladin, eyes wide in confusion and fear. "Lance," Shiro said again, quieter and calmer this time, "Keith died months ago. You know that."  
Lance shook his head. "I saw him. He must have got away. I never saw the body."  
"But I did," Shiro said quietly, "Whoever you saw, Lance, it wasn't Keith."  
Lance tried to argue, but was cut off by a loud wailing sound, and a bright red flashing light.  
"Someone's sounded the alarm!" Shiro shouted, standing up right, "We've got to get Lance to the lion."  
"There's no time!" Allura replied. They all turned to watch the doors slide open, and a group of soldiers approached, guns firing ahead of them.

Lance sat up slowly. "Get out of here," he said quietly, "There's no point trying to save me now, just go!"  
Allura glanced at him, and then gently put one hand on his shoulder. "We'll never forget you Lance," she said softly as she stood back up, "The universe will forever know your name." She turned and rushed back into the red lion, wiping tears from her face as she did.  
Shiro looked at Lance, eyes filled with horror, and then turned to follow Allura. "Goodbye, Lance," he managed to choke out, before he too had to race away. Pidge and Hunk instantly threw themselves at Lance. Hunk kept the soldiers at bay with his gun, all the while sobbing uncontrollably.  
"We'll always be the Garrison Trio," Pidge said, her voice breaking as she stumbled over the words, "You're the best friend I've ever had."  
"We love you," Hunk added, managing to somehow speak through his tears.  
"I love you both too," Lance said. Another wave of soldiers arrived, and a few shots almost hit them. "Go, please, don't get hurt too." Pidge grabbed onto Hunk's arm, trying to drag him away. "Go!" Lance screamed again as the soldiers approached. The two stared at their friend for a few seconds that seemed to last for years, and then they finally headed into the lion, looking back over their shoulders the entire time, tears falling like rivers down their faces.

Lance lay back on the ground, his head hitting the floor softly. The soldiers rushed past him, instead trying to get into the lion. One set of feet walked up, and Lance saw them approach him through his hazy vision. The person crouched down, and Lance's breath caught in his throat as he saw a familiar face.  
"Keith," he breathed out, reaching out to try and grab onto him. Keith's face was hazy, and blurred, and yet he seemed more real than ever.  
"Don't worry, love," Keith said softly, crouching down by Lance's side, his eyes full of love as he looked at him, "You did your best. You're a hero. But there's nothing more you can do. It's time to come and rest with me now." He held out one hand gently, and Lance slowly reached out to take it. The last thing Lance saw before everything faded away was the red lion disappear out of the hangar and into space. He let out a breath he hadn't even realised he was holding, and slowly let his eyelids flicker shut.

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to write something fluffy for Valentine's day, but I've written too much fluff recently, so I did this instead. I'm sorry


End file.
